1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to porous materials and more particularly to nanoscale porous materials.
2. State of Technology
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,686 for porous metal structures and processes for their production, issued Jan. 7, 1997 to Christine Third et al, provides the following state of technology information: “At the present time powder metallurgy techniques are utilized for the fabrication of engineered porous metal structures. Typically, such porous metal components are designed having particular properties and for specific applications. The utility of the components extends to battery materials, friction parts, electronic and electrical components, and the like. However, with expanding markets, applications for specialty porous metal products are constantly increasing and diversifying.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,351 for porous metallic material having high specific surface area, method of producing the same, porous metallic plate material and electrode for alkaline secondary battery, issued Dec. 8, 1998 to Kouji Hoshino et al, provides the following state of technology information: “Porous metallic materials having a three-dimensional network skeleton in which pores are formed are conventionally used as structural members of various machines and apparatus. For example, such metallic materials are used as an active substance holding material of an electrode of an alkaline secondary battery, a hydrolytic electrode, a kerosene atomizing member of a petroleum heater, a magnetic shield packing, a gas expansion buffer of an air cushion using an explosive, a sound absorbing material, various filters such as a hydrolytic filter of a clarifier, an electrostatic filter of an air clarifier, an oil mist filter for an engine exhaust gas, a filter of a high-temperature exhaust dust collector, etc.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,787 for porous articles and method for the manufacture thereof, issued Jul. 15, 2003 to Gary Pickrell et al, provides the following state of technology information: “In the production of certain articles for use in many applications, such as refractory, kiln furniture, filtration, fuel cell, bone implant, catalyst substrates, catalysts, particular traps, filters, diffusion layers, electrical conductors, heat exchange components, wicks for heat pipes, wicks for burners, radiant burner surfaces, diffusion layers for introducing fuel and/or water into an air stream. It is sometimes desirable to reduce the overall density of the fabricated article by introducing porosity into the article during or after fabrication. The strategy employed for reducing the mass of the article after fabrication usually involves removal of material from the article by means of grinding, drilling, routing or other mechanical methods to physically remove material from selected locations. This usually takes the form of drilling holes, routing channels, etc. Reducing the mass of the material (per unit volume of space occupied by the fabricated article) during fabrication involves using a process which introduces porosity into the material.”